UTEP football notebook: Other QBs support Blair Sullivan from the bench

For the first time since arriving on campus last year, Nick Lamaison did not play in a game, and junior Carson Meger didn't enter a game for just the second time in his career.

Coach Mike Price was effusive in his praise of how they handled the situation.

"The best thing was the coaching support and valuable advice (Sullivan) was getting from the other quarterbacks," Price said. "They didn't abandon him, they didn't pout, they did everything they could to support him and help us win.

"There were nothing but positive comments. You talk about two quality men, Carson Meger and Nick Lamaison couldn't have been any better and they could have been a lot worse. I've had teams that could split apart in a New York minute."

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Bret Bloomquist

Health

UTEP didn't pick up any significant injuries in the UCF game, and it is also now obvious that Nathan Jeffery is all the way back from an injury that robbed him of effectiveness for half the season.

His 174 yards were just three off his season high in the Oklahoma opener and gave him back-to-back 100-yard games.

When asked if he now realizes how badly UTEP missed Jeffery, he said, "I've always had that feeling. We were tickled and tempted with some of the underclassmen running backs who came in and helped us get through those games, (but) Nathan is a really good player."

"I'm 100 percent," Jeffery said.

QB shuffle

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Price attempted to describe Southern Miss' quarterback rotation, as the Golden Eagles have used four different signal callers and Price thought they had some injuries there against SMU.

"It's confusing to me, you can imagine what it's like for them," he said.

Price expects Anthony Alford will play, though me missed much of the SMU game with an injured ankle. Arsenio Favor returns from a suspension and Chris Campbell and Cole Weeks also played against SMU.

Officially, Southern Miss lists Alford as the starter and Favor as the backup.

"We're preparing for everything and working on our fundamentals," Price said.

Bret Bloomquist may be reached at bbloomquist@elpasotimes.com; 546-6359. Follow him on Twitter @bretbloomquist.